 Edsel Ford had a special car built after returning from a trip to Europe that would have a "continental look" – including a spare tire mounted on the trunk.The 1939 Lincoln Continental's short trunk with its external rear spare tire mount became a distinctive design.While this was not the first car to either carry its spare above the rear bumper or integrated into the rear bodywork, it was the first to do it so elegantly and thus this feature became known as a "Continental tire" even if the design was found on other brands.